Nick Collison sacrificed his body for the good of the Kansas University basketball team Sunday against Iowa State, and the officials really shortchanged him. Nick absorbed a terrible working-over by the infamous Jackson Vroman. The zebra-of-record was so obsessed with calling a travel that he missed what the lank-haired ISU assassin did to Collison.

Most of the attention Sunday focused on this scenario: Vroman got way out of line in fouling KU’s Wayne Simien, coach Roy Williams stormed out to get an irked Simien under control, ISU’s Jared Homan appeared to be functioning as a peacemaker, KU’s Aaron Miles gave Homan a hair-raising whap to the back of the head.

To the high credit of Miles and coach Williams, full responsibility was accepted for intemperate behavior, apologies were issued to the right people and Miles did penance via workout legwork. With Iowa State personnel bleating about how they got hosed, Roy, Miles and the Jayhawks came off looking classy.

But back to the hare-lipping Colli

son took on that clear-cut charge by Vroman. The frustrated ISU lightning rod drove to the hoop, intent on running over Collison. Nick gallantly stood his ground and took a hard hit, reeling backward. I found myself steaming, “Oh, no, not another injury!”

It got worse. Watch the video. As Nick fell and Vroman veered somewhat to the right, the frustrated Cyclone used his left knee to do as much damage as he could either to Collison’s chest, shoulder or face. Whatever Nick did, he avoided what could have been at least a broken nose, or jaw.

All this paved the way for ISU’s Larry Eustachy to draw a deserved ejection and set the stage for the donnybrook where Vroman finally fouled out.

For those who think Miles should have been ejected, he didn’t come off the bench as the disqualification rule states he must, was already on the court, didn’t lash out with a fist and was doggone contrite after he took up the cudgel for his big brother-in-arms. Aaron knew he erred, Roy made it clear such behavior is unacceptable, Kansas ended up a class act.

Anyone heard any apologies from Vroman or Eustachy?

Seemed to me that ISU came here a big chip on its shoulder; Vroman’s behavior symbolized that. As for the talented Jake Sullivan of I-State, he sure sticks that elbow out when he starts a drive, same as Texas’ T.J. Ford and Missouri’s Ricky Clemons. If they’re gonna make coaches stay in a prescribed box, how about watching the thrust-and-drive tendencies that were patented by Missouri’s Anthony Peeler?

l When Williams was striving to get Jeff Graves to trim down, there were regular timings on the 12-minute run, and formal weight checks. Roy leaves nothing to chance.

Al (Sam) Donaghue, a Wyandotte High product of the 1958-60 period, chuckles every time he tells the story of his “weight problem” under coach Dick Harp who wasn’t as meticulous as Roy.

“Dick was on me, sometimes unmercifully, about my weight from the time I got here,” recalls Donaghue, now retired in Kansas City after a Russell Stover career. “I got to 6-5 and played three years in high school at about 210 or 215. As a sophomore here (1957-58), I was up to about 233 and Dick really rode me.

“He started having me weigh each night and write it on a chart. He didn’t keep track so I just kept working it down to where I had him convinced it was around 215.

“I was always big in the chest and shoulders and looked heavier than I was. Heck, I was wearing 34- or 35-inch waists on my pants. But they wanted me trimmer, so I did some work with the pen.”

Then here’s this bottom-line cackle from Sam, a name his dad gave him in the eighth grade, maybe because dad recalled big band performer Sam Donahue.

“We played Colorado here in 1959 in the first college afternoon basketball game televised nationally. I had a career high 27 points, though we lost. When coach Harp was asked for comment, he said something like, ‘That’s how good he can be if he keeps his weight down.’ Man, I was as hefty as ever.”

Publicist Don Pierce bought into it, too. In his media guide evaluation for ’59-60, Pierce wrote: “Donaghue upped his sophomore average of 5.0 to 10.6 last season . . . He also was a starter the final half of his sophomore season. Fifteen pounds trimmer than the 227 of last winter, he is a fine set shooter and has spun some fine defensive performances.”

“I had them thinking I shed the weight even though I hadn’t,” El Crafto Donaghue will tell you with a grin.

Sam hit the academic reefs and played only 17 games as a senior. He finished with averages of 8.7 points and 4.6 rebounds, still pretty good.

“Dick (Harp) kept after me to work offseason to get my legs stronger with weights,” Donaghue said. “In those days, they banned you from doing upper-body stuff as they do now; said it affected your touch and finesse. Wilt Chamberlain was an early-day weightman but most of us others were afraid to get into trouble. Don’t know how I might have shaped up with good weight training. But win or lose, we had great times back then; I’ll always treasure them.”

Footnote: KU turned heaven and earth to sell out Allen Fieldhouse for that pivotal 1959 TV appearance and wound up with fewer than 7,000 in the stands. Further, the network cut off the KU-CU game early because of a commitment to a horse race.

The game wound up 66-64 and wasn’t decided until very late. Fans would march on the TV trucks and take hostages if that happened now, right?